Customer Review

On its original release back in 1981 this album was one of the first I bought and hoping to rekindle fond childhood memories prompted my checking out this lavish two disc release. For me this was definitely money worth spent as the songs are still as fresh and dynamically appealing as I remember them all those years ago. The first disc offers up the standard twelve track studio album where naturally the single releases `I Go To Sleep', `Talk of the Town' and `Day After Day' shine brightest. However there are some mighty impressive album tracks that are just as appealing. I love `The English Roses' and the raunchy fast paced rock tempo of `Bad Boys Get Spanked' complete with occasional whip cracks and screams. Praise is indeed due for offering up a second disc presenting fifteen live songs plus three rarities weighing in at an impressive seventy-four minutes. On stage I feel that they really are great and particularly enjoy the guitar solo that concludes `Day After Day'.

Let's talk packaging for a moment and it's a sturdy three panel ridged cardboard container with three sleeves, one each for the discs and the other contains a highly informative sixteen page booklet. Thumb through this and you'll count six pages of sleeve notes about the group during 1981, the album tracks and `a word on the bonus material' which is embellished by rare photos of the band on stage and in America throughout rubbing shoulders with the text. Very pleased to find four pages of song lyrics particularly for `Louie Louie', the enjoyable closing track on the album which I didn't exactly know the words. I'd forgotten what a great song writer Chrissie Hynde is with lines like `We are all of us in the gutter / But some of us are looking at the stars' (Message of Love) and `Flowers in full bloom / Bouquets in every room' (The English Roses) quite memorable.

For me this a mighty impressive well worth the money product and it certainly enthuses me, should finances permit to check out other 2 CD set albums from The Pretenders.